The public comment period on the so-called “Polluted Water Rule” closed on January 5, 2026. Almost immediately, the Trump administration moved on to its next attack on the Clean Water Act, this time targeting Section 401, one of the most important tools states and Tribes have to protect their waters.
That timing tells you everything you need to know.
This administration, and the polluters it caters to, will never be satisfied. Not with one rollback. Not with two. They will keep chipping away at the Clean Water Act until meaningful protections are gone entirely. The Polluted Water Rule and the question of which water is protected have been key targets for polluters for decades, but it’s not the end of the story. It was just the latest chapter.
During those 45 days, Clean Water Action and our members made it clear: we are not backing down.
Meeting the Polluted Water Rule Head-On
When EPA and the Army Corps announced their proposal to further weaken the definition of “Waters of the United States” last November, we knew what was at stake. This was a direct attempt to lock in and expand the damage done by the Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA decision by stripping protections from wetlands, seasonal streams, and headwaters across the country.
So, we went all in.
We issued an official statement calling the proposal what it was: another reckless step toward dismantling the Clean Water Act. We launched a national online action and built out canvassing tools so our field and phone canvass programs could bring this issue directly to people where they live. And we asked our members to speak for themselves — loudly, clearly, and in record numbers.
They did not disappoint.
Over the course of the comment period, Clean Water Action mobilized approximately 6,230 public comments to EPA’s docket opposing the Polluted Water Rule. These weren’t form letters quietly filed and forgotten. Many of them were handwritten postcards, carried directly to EPA’s doors!
In Philadelphia alone, our field teams collected 1,139 postcards. Our phone canvass programs added hundreds of additional comments on top of thousands submitted through email, social media, and our website.
There’s something powerful about a stack of handwritten postcards. They’re personal. They’re tangible. And they send a message that regulators can’t ignore: people are paying attention.
Bringing the Science, the Law, and the People Together
Alongside grassroots mobilization, we submitted detailed technical comments laying out why this rule goes beyond what Sackett requires and why it fails both legally and scientifically. We also updated and re-released our Putting Drinking Water First white paper, which explains a basic truth this administration keeps trying to ignore: if you want clean drinking water, you have to protect all the waters that feed it.
Our state programs stepped up in a big way too. Teams in California and Texas led state-specific sign-on letters, grounding the national fight in local impacts — from arid, seasonal streams in the West to flood-prone watersheds in the South. Across the country, our staff and members talked to press, posted videos, shared stories, and kept this issue alive well beyond the regulatory docket.
We also worked closely with allies. Clean Water Action helped develop messaging toolkits for partners, joined coalition and partner comment letters, and supported efforts to push for an extension of the comment period. And on December 16, staff from our national office and multiple state offices showed up to EPA’s virtual public meeting to urge the agency to stop digging the hole deeper.
All of this happened over just a few short weeks.
And Then Came the Next Attack
Before EPA even had time to acknowledge the thousands of comments opposing the Polluted Water Rule, the administration rolled out a new proposal to weaken Clean Water Act Section 401, the provision that allows states and Tribes to block or condition federally permitted projects that would pollute their waters.
If the Polluted Water Rule is about shrinking which waters are protected, this new 401 proposal is about silencing the last line of defense for the waters that remain.
Together, these actions reveal a clear strategy: reduce federal jurisdiction, strip states and Tribes of their authority, and fast-track polluting projects with as little oversight as possible. It’s a one-two punch that leaves communities exposed and polluters emboldened.
The speed with which the administration moved from one rollback to the next makes one thing clear: this was always the plan.
What This Moment Demands
The fight over the Polluted Water Rule showed what’s possible when people organize. Thousands spoke up. States and communities made their voices heard. And EPA now has a record filled with opposition it cannot simply wish away.
But the new 401 proposal reminds us that defending the Clean Water Act is an ongoing effort, one that requires vigilance, persistence, and solidarity across states, Tribes, and movements.
Clean Water Action will continue to meet these attacks head-on. We will keep mobilizing our members, supporting our state programs, working with allies, and calling out efforts to dismantle bedrock environmental protections piece by piece.
Because clean water isn’t optional. And no matter how many times this administration comes back for another cut, we’re not going anywhere.
